Victim
by SoundGeare
Summary: Go ahead, take a chance. Any summary at all would ruin this story (in my eyes) so you get none. The story is dark and creepy. P.s. this is one of my AU stories (originally entitled Creep). Just read it, then review it.


Link walked across the uneven cave floor, finding his way by the glowing light that traveled along with the group. Up ahead he could see the mouth of the cave, a speck of light that cut through the darkness.

Of course, they didn't need the light from the sun. The quarter dozen tendrils that slinked along the stone floor provided more than enough illumination for the four children. The light was faintly green, filling the air like a gas.

Link paused at the edge of the sunlight, gazing warily at the warm colorless rays and at the places where they cut the darkness. This light was strange light. The luminance he was used to didn't cut through the darkness as much as it melded with it, making it less dark but not terribly brighter.

Just like every other time, after he had tucked away the discomfort brought on by sunlight, Link stepped into it and felt the strange warmth on his skin. Another thing he wasn't used to, one more thing that brought discomfort. He could feel his skin crawling as the sunlight washed over him. It was a strange place out here, full of strange unfamiliar things.

But not everything they needed could be found in the dark caverns. Water was easy to acquire if you could just make your way to one of the underground ponds, and the bone chilling night air was made lukewarm by being trapped and circulated in those tunnels. But there was something more they needed, something that required leaving the caves.

Link looked out at the grey landscape, surveying the rocky terrain and the endless fields of flat brown that came after. The lands beyond this pass were a mystery to Link. He'd never been there, and he'd never had any reason to. He had what he needed here, and that was enough.

Turning to the others, Link spoke suddenly, interrupting the other's inspections of the world. This place was nothing but strange sights and discomforting sensations, and Link couldn't wait to be back inside.

"Mido, it's your turn for victim. Fado, you go with him."

Fado nodded with an eager look in her eyes. However, Mido began to complain, "But the victim's always the last to get in there, I don't want to miss any."

Link couldn't suppress the grin, "Don't worry, you won't miss any."

That settled Mido, and the boy followed Fado down into the pass. They had to climb down a dozen yards through scraggly looking trees and dead foliage. At some points they had a tough time navigating their way through the branches, but the dull green snakes that followed had no such difficulty. They just slithered through the densely packed foliage, stopping a dozen feet from the path along with Mido. Fado went on a little farther, waiting to stop until she was just a few feet from the road.

Link and Saria didn't remain still during this. They also went down into the close packed forest of dead wood, quickly losing sight of each other as they made their way to their predetermined places. Link had to fight his way through the drooping branches to reach his destination. Every step of the way just served to drive home his dislike of the outside. There were no grasping branches sticking out from the comfortingly smooth walls of the cave. There was no brush to catch your feet on or thorns to catch on your skin.

Link froze as he heard the heavy footsteps approaching. His breath froze, his heart stopped, and his thoughts disappeared. Only a few things existed now, a few details that suddenly grew to become monoliths. He could see Fado standing just within the forest, drawing deep calming breaths in preparation. Link saw Mido perched deeper in the trees, the snakelike appendages hovering near him.

For a brief moment, Link caught sight of Saria through the trees. Their eyes locked and she nodded slightly. In her hand, Link could see the fist sized stone she was gripping tightly.

The frozen thoughts started up again for a moment, repeating the same thought frantically again and again. He'd forgotten his rock. He was supposed to have gotten the rock before, but it was too late now. He'd forgotten the _rock_! It was too late now, he'd have to get a rock later, for now he had to be frozen solid.

Link's eyes swiveled searching the ground at his feet. There, right by his foot, was a rock of appropriate proportions. Just big enough and just close enough. When it came time to move, Link would have to move extra fast, since he would be adding an extra step. Picking up the rock. He should have gotten it earlier, but that was past now. Too late to be changed and too late to be worried about.

The footsteps were closer now, so much closer that Link could almost see the man walking. They were heavy footsteps, a heavy man. Or it could've been a light man with a heavy load. That would be disappointing but a relief in another much smaller way.

The man came into sight and Link almost ground his teeth. A huge pack rested on the man's back, all brown canvas and leather belts. The shiny buckles glimmered in the sunlight, reflecting the colorlessness in a weak gleam.

Link's eyes moved from the man over to Fado in a heartbeat, the anticipation hanging thick in the air. He could see her standing hunched over in the woods, taking a breath to ready herself. Even at this distance, Link could see her preparing tears.

From Fado to Mido, Link's eyes moved again. The boy was watching Fado, his whole body tense.

A high pitched scream filled the air, positively dripping with terror. Fado tore her way through the trees, careless of the thorns and twigs that got caught in her skin and hair. The girl scrambled out of the dead forest and onto the path, running with a weak legged wobble that betrayed the fear she held deep in her soul. For a moment it seemed that she might lose her balance and fall, but see kept going, clambering frantically toward the shocked man.

Tears were surely in her eyes since Link could clearly hear the sniveling sobs. Fado ran up to the man and started blubbering in a nearly incoherent fashion. Some of it made sense though, just enough of it.

Fado choked out her plea for help, grabbing the man's larger hand with both of her own. As she pulled the man back toward the forest, Link could almost hear her explaining about the monstrous tentacles out among the trees, and the terrible things that might be happening to her friend at this very moment.

On cue, Mido cried out as one of the tentacles twirled around his ankle and pulled it out from under him. Link could see Mido put on his totally see-through face of panic. Fado was the best at this, thus she almost always got the biggest part. However, no one wanted to be the one in Mido's place all the time, so they traded it around. Today was Mido's turn, unfortunately.

Link's eyes flicked back to Fado and the man, watching him drop the pack from his back and let himself be led by hand into the trees. Link could see the concern in his eyes.

Now was the time. Link bent his knees slightly and scooped up the rock. It was cold in his hand, its smooth surface reminding him of the cave's walls. Once this was over, they'd be back inside with the cool dry air and the comforting green light. They'd be back home.

The man neared Mido and froze for a moment as his eyes fell on the boy. More tentacles had joined in, one wrapping itself around his torso and another around his wrist. From Link's vantage point, he could see the fourth tentacle hidden in a stand of skeletal bushes. Any second now…

The man leapt forward and began trying to tear the tentacles off of Mido. As soon as he touched the first, it was all over. It flexed and spun, wrapping around his wrist with blinding speed. The others began to move as well. The one in the bush leapt forward, pushing him off balance just as the two remaining closed around his ankles.

The man was still falling as Link sprinted through the trees. He couldn't care less about the branches tearing at him. Saria was approaching from the opposite side, brandishing her own rock. As the final tentacle wrapped around the man's final hand, they converged.

One of Mido's tasks as the victim was find two rocks, one for him and one for Fado. As one they reached the man and crowded around him. Terror was bright in his eyes as his body jerked and thrashed against the tentacles. It was useless though, just as useless as the pleas for mercy.

They all dropped to their knees around him, raised the stones high over their heads and drove them down. Link had come closest to his midsection and aimed to shatter the man's ribs. Fado was focusing on one of his arms while both Mido and Saria were taking turns bashing in the man's skull.

Soon enough the four of them were all bloody and the man had stopped screaming. However, the sounds still bounced around in the pass, reflecting his dying screams over and over again until the sound was barely audible.

The tentacles held tight for a moment or two after the man died, only to release him and pull away slowly. They drew back through the brush and toward the tunnel. They were like Link, not wanting to spend any more time in the sunlight than necessary.

Link discarded the rock and exchanged glances with the other children.

"Rock, paper, scissors," Link said with a grin, "…for who takes care of this guy's stuff."

"Not me," Mido protested, "I did victim, I'm not doing cleanup."

Link just waved him off and said, "Fine… Fado, Saria, who's first?"

"I'll do it," Fado quickly, "Take care of the stuff, I mean. I liked the look of those buckles."

Without another word, Fado made her way back to the path. Link chuckled a little as he thought of Fado and her near obsession with little trinkets and mementos. She had a whole pile of them in the cave, brass buckles, silver rings, even a tin cup that she had polished till shone. The funny thing was that none of them would shine without light, and there wasn't much of that in the caves. Useless things, Link thought. The whole thing was funny, though.

"Okay, well Saria and Mido, you get his arms." Link said, grabbing hold of the already cooling ankles. Together they dragged the body back toward the cave, through the forest of dead trees and up the stone slope.

As they approached the cave mouth, Link felt his stomach growl. It had been a few days since he'd eaten anything, a couple weeks since anyone had actually come through this way. Luckily, though, meat could be kept fresh for a long time in the cool dry air of the caves. Link felt a hollow starting to form in his stomach from the expectation of feeding, and his only regret was at having to share with the other children and mother.

Of course, there would always be others. Other people who wandered through this pass. There would always be more food, and they would never starve. Of course not, because mother took care of them. The four children living with their mother, cut off from the world. Not that they needed the world, just each other.

Link strained in carrying the body. It was tough to carry them up the hill. Suddenly they reached the summit and began to travel downward into the caves.

As they progressed the light in the air began to turn green and Link was relieved to be back home.


End file.
